


A Hawke Flies South

by Jarino



Series: Rima Lavellan, Herald of Andraste [14]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Awkward Conversations, Awkwardness, F/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 08:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5450351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarino/pseuds/Jarino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Rima learns that Hawke and Cullen once bedded each other, things get a little awkward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Hawke Flies South

Hawke’s head tilted back in laughter, her drink threatening to slosh out of her mug. “Varric, that is  _not_  how it happened and you know it!” She gave the dwarf a playful shove, a wide grin plastered on her face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said with faux-innocence before taking a sip of his own drink. “I definitely recall you threatening to strip down to your smalls, and we all know my memory is impeccable.”

She rolled her eyes before leaning over to Rima and muttering, “Careful, Inquisitor…Before you know it, he’ll be writing down all  _your_  embarrassing moments and putting them in a book.”

“Don’t listen to her, Starlight. You know I would  _never_  stoop to such lengths,” he exclaimed with a grin.

“Starlight? He gave you a nickname?” Hawke asked with a pout before turning to Varric and whining, “You never gave  _me_  a nickname…”

“Sure I did! You’re Hawk, remember? Without the ‘e’?”

“That doesn’t count! It sounds exactly the same when you say it out loud! It’s lazy and you know it!” she proclaimed with petulance.

Rima couldn’t help but giggle at their antics and reached for her ale, taking a long, slow gulp and savoring the burning feel on her throat.

“Evening, Inquisitor.”

At the mention of her title in that familiar rich voice, she practically choked on her drink. Pounding on her chest, she snorted and coughed unflatteringly before she managed to glance up at the owner of the voice. “Commander…What – ah, what can I do for you?”

He never came to the tavern, not even when she invited him along. He’d always found some excuse to weasel his way out of socializing with the others, so to see him come here of his own volition was strange to say the least.

“I, um…” He shifted from one foot to the other and cleared his throat slightly. “I was hoping to steal a moment of your time, but it appears you’re busy…”

“Oh, this?” she asked, glancing back to her drinking companions. “Varric’s just sharing a couple of stories from Kirkwall. Inquisition business would definitely take priority.”

“Ah, well…no, that’s all right. It wasn’t…important, per se…” He directed his gaze to the side, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’ll just…come find you some other time,” he muttered before making to leave.

“Hey, Curly, come on…Why don’t you sit down and drink with us?” Varric urged in invitation.

Before he could open his mouth to protest, Hawke let out an unbecoming snort and practically slammed her hand on the table in amusement. “Curly! Oh, man, that is priceless!”

She continued to laugh for several more moments before Rima spoke up in confusion. “I don’t understand…Why is it so funny? His hair isn’t that curly…”

At her comment, Hawke let out a howl of laughter, nearly toppling over in her seat. “Oh – oh, Varric…” she managed to say as she wiped a tear from her eye. “You couldn’t have known…you were probably just basing it on his hairstyle in Kirkwall, but…” She snickered some more before breaking out into laughter again.

Rima continued to stare at her with a lack of understanding, her brows furrowing in contemplation. “I still don’t get it…”

Forcing down her laughter, Hawke threw her a toothy grin before leaning in close and muttering, “He’s particularly curly down there.” She gestured at him with her head before she began cracking up once more.

Rima sat in confusion for a moment before comprehension dawned on her and her eyebrows shot up to the ceiling. Cullen must have heard at least some of their exchange, for he’d turned stiff as a board and his face was rapidly heating up.

Overcome with shock, she remained agape for a small fraction of time before something else occurred to her. “Wait…how do you know that?”

Hawke’s eyes immediately lit up, and she opened her mouth, preparing to detail a long, interesting story, but Cullen attempted to dissuade her with a firm “Hawke...” His tone was low and warning and his eyes held a dangerous edge, but she spared him little more than a glance.

Smirking mischievously, Leigh entered Rima’s personal space as she uttered, “Let’s just say the Knight-Captain got to know the Champion fairly well before she earned her title…”

She was soon overcome with giggles once more, clearly having had too much to drink, but Cullen immediately started fuming at her words. Rima barely caught a glimpse of his bright red complexion before he promptly turned on his heel and stormed out of the tavern.

“Awww…where’s he goin’?” she mumbled with disappointment as she leaned her head on the table.

Rima’s brows crinkled in concern as she watched him depart before she returned her attention to the woman at her side. “So you two…?”

“Hm?” she asked, glancing up. “Oh, yeah…And let me tell you, you are one lucky woman, Inquisitor!” she exclaimed before patting her on the back. “That man certainly knows his way around the sheets!”

Rima could quickly feel her own cheeks heating up, but she did her best to ignore it, clearing her throat softly before speaking. “Um…We haven’t actually…”

“No?” She looked at her with genuine surprise before shrugging. “Well then, I guess you have something to look forward to!”

Chewing on her bottom lip, Rima’s gaze drifted back to the space Cullen had previously occupied. He’d definitely been embarrassed about the conversation, but…had that been anger on his face too? Was he angry at Hawke for revealing their tryst, or perhaps Varric for not intervening? Or maybe he was angry at himself for not telling Rima sooner?

In any case, she was certain he was not in a good mood right now, and if she let it fester, it would only become worse over time. With a heavy sigh, she rose from her seat, attempting to excuse herself. Hawke tried to insist that she stay, saying that the night had only just begun, but she politely declined the offer, explaining that she was tired and wished to retire for the evening.

It seemed like Leigh was going to protest some more, but Varric quickly distracted her with promises of another story and she immediately perked up, her attention having been directed elsewhere. Rima shot a grateful look at him before taking her leave and heading up to the battlements.

\-----

Cullen bitterly paced his office, pinching the bridge of his nose as his eyes shut in frustration. Hawke just  _had_  to go and blab about their brief affair in Kirkwall, to the Inquisitor’s face, no less. He let out a low groan as he leaned his forehead against a wall. What was she thinking now? He didn’t want to know, didn’t want to see her expression, so he’d bolted out of there as quick as possible, but now his worries were only aggravating him more.

Did she think him unloyal? That he was the type of man to sleep and run? Or worse, did she think he’d interfered with Hawke and Fenris’ relationship? Did she know that it had happened while they were separated? Did she even know that it was a one-time occurrence and not an ongoing affair? Maker’s breath, did she think he still had feelings for her? Another exasperated moan left his throat as he hit his head against the stone surface before him.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the door open and close, nor did he hear the tentative footsteps that were rapidly approaching him. When a hand gently landed on his upper arm, he flinched, jumping back with alarm only to meet Rima’s concerned face. Her hands immediately flew up in defense and she blurted out, “Sorry, sorry!” She began awkwardly rubbing her hand along her arm as her gaze drifted to the floor. Cullen let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair.

When he opened his mouth to speak, she spoke at the same time.

“About earlier…”

“Listen…”

They both stopped for a moment, taken aback by the other’s interruption before they both began erupting with laughter.

Her giggling trailing off, Rima brushed her hair out of her face before looking up at him softly. “About what Hawke said…I’m sorry, she was definitely out of line…Are you doing okay?”

He could only look at her in shock, not expecting this kind of reaction. He attempted to shake the feeling away before he began stumbling over his words. “I-uh…Yes, but…” Another sigh left his lips and he shook his head before continuing. “I assumed you would be upset…Is that? Am I…?”

Now it was her turn to gaze at him in confusion, though an amused smile remained on her face. “Cullen, I’m not  _mad_  at you or anything…” she said with a small laugh. “Sure, I was really surprised when I heard that the two of you were…together…but it’s not something that bothers me…”

“Really?” he asked with mild bewilderment. “You’re…It doesn’t bother you that I’ve been with…other women?”

She laughed out loud at that, so hard that she had to hold onto her stomach. He stood there, blinking in confusion as she righted herself, uncertain how to react. “Cullen…” she gasped between chuckles. “I don’t care about that…” She shook her head slightly as she beamed at him. “It was fairly obvious you’ve been with others before, and you have to know you’re not my first, either…”

His eyes widened somewhat at her remark, which only made her giggle further. His face flushed and he immediately took to rubbing the back of his neck as he endured her scrutiny. “I-Is that so?” he managed, his voice faltering somewhat.

Grinning, she quickly closed the space between them and, maintaining eye contact, pressed her pointer finger against his chest. “Why yes, as a matter of fact, it is,” she purred, her words vibrating against his chest.

He shuddered somewhat before reaching his arm out to lace around her waist and pull her closer. Leaning down, he rested his forehead against hers as a low growl escaped him. “I sincerely hope you’ll consider adding me to that list of yours.”

“Oh! So you assume it’s a long list, then?”

“I- Maker’s breath, I didn’t mean…”

His words died in his throat as she reached up to join his mouth with hers. Her tongue languidly slid across his bottom lip before she released him and pulled back gently. “I think I’ll need more time to consider your offer, Commander…In the meantime, I do believe I’m in need of another kiss.”

He could feel his eyes darken and his voice turned low and husky as his grip tightened. “I believe that can be arranged…”

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s the promised follow-up to “A Night to Forget”. I struggled for a long time trying to figure out when this should happen and how the conversation should come about, and this was the best I could come up with.


End file.
